Marketing teams went crazy for CRM, but now they’re sweet on PIM!

With 1.2 billion internet transactions in 2017((FEVAD and KPMG study, e-commerce report 2017), digital commerce is doing undeniably well. Online sales have been increasing nonstop for 20 years – as has the number of e-commerce sellers.

Competition is rife, and customer experience has to be the cornerstone of a decent sales strategy. It has been necessary for companies to capitalize on knowledge extracted from customer interactions: the CRM was born of this very need.

Customer relations can be personalized with the help of a CRM, but of course, you have to conclude sales to have customers. During the pre-purchasing phase you have to raise product awareness and get information about products on sale to potential customers. This very first encounter with the product information forms the basis of the customer experience.

So how can customer experience be improved when a prospect first discovers what makes a product unique? The PIM renders this phase perfectly streamline: it has become the new indispensable tool for marketing teams today.

1. Increasing products and clients

TAn increasing number of customers led to the invention of the CRM, thus replacing excel files of the past, likewise, the PIM sprang to life due to the increasing number of products for sale.

Organizational issues have arisen alongside the growth in product volumes, and collecting and storing information in product databases has become difficult. Indeed, a growing number of products on sale mean an exponential amount of product data to be dealt with.

By centralizing product data in one place and making it accessible to the whole Marketing team at any time, the PIM makes life easier for teams handling tens, hundreds, or thousands of products at once.

2. Increasing collected and enriched data

CRM has become indispensable for collecting as much customer information as possible and sending the right message at the right time. The amount of product data available to customers is also increasing considerably: media and text content have to both tempt and reassure customers to incite them to buy. Layout, detail and availability are all essential.

« allergen » data in the food industry, which is linked to genuine health risks,

« fabric » data in fashion, to satisfy questions on ethics and allergies which are important for buyers,

« children’s activity » data in tourism, because parents won’t book their next holidays without it

Having incomplete or unavailable data is like handing the sale to your competitor on a silver platter!

By using the PIM to structure and orchestrate the product enrichment process, your Marketing teams can rest assured product information is exhaustive and transparent for customers, and it remains manageable at all times!

3. Increasing channels and facilitating diffusion

At a time when customer contact points are multiplying like wildflower, the CRM is under major strain to keep a smooth conversation going with customers, whatever the channel.

At a time when customer contact points are multiplying like wildflower, the CRM is under major strain to keep a smooth conversation going with customers, whatever the channel.

As for product data, it has to be easily and instantly available across all distribution channels, but also adapted to suit the adequate format for each of them.

The same product content (descriptions, media..) can be adapted to fit the needs of different sales and communication channels:

On the Web: marketplaces, platforms e-commerce, online sales sites

For Print: brochures, catalogues, pdf

For the International market, thanks to the PIM’s integrated translation feature

The PIM was born of an operational need on the ground just like its big brother the CRM. It has also become an indispensable tool for addressing the current challenges of e-commerce and marketing. You can’t attract customers without impeccable product information: the product experience must be perfect and make life easy for buyers with a low frustration threshold…

With the pressure off your employees, their time can be dedicated to high value tasks more than ever before.